Literally
by cooper-jones
Summary: Corinne is a starting out YouTuber, with a love for everything YouTube. Her life is overturned when she realizes she has to move to London since her job is transferring her. She returns home after 5 years to a new and judgmental roommate, a very skeptic family and... two YouTubers living next door? And one of them OBVIOUSLY has to be the gorgeous, the only, Dan Howell.
1. Introduction

**Corinne watches YouTube. Like she** ** _watches_** **YouTube. From Danisnotonfire to Grace Helbig to Lilly Singh, she watches everybody possible. But she is really a Phangirl at heart (them being the first YouTubers she ever watched). So when she moves into the apartment next to theirs as their new neighbour, she literally cannot contain herself. This only gets worse when they turn up at her doorstep... multiple times. And Dan** ** _really_** **isn't being helpful by being as gorgeous as he is.**

 **A/N: This is my FIRST YouTuber fanfic. And honestly idek if it'll be good, bad or whatever. I just hope you give it a shot and MAYBE you'll like it? I don't know :D**


	2. A Cliche Elevator Meet

To say I was looking forward to going back to London would be an exaggeration. I was actually dreading my return. I mean, it was bad enough that my _entire_ family lived there (something I had been hoping to get away from for a while) but to find out that I was also living with another stranger? I honestly don't know how people live with new people. After university, I moved into an apartment with Lara, my best friend from university, and got a job in the same area. Come to think of it, I don't even know what I did to deserve the transfer. These were the thoughts that were going through my head when I was packing up the last box of my stuff. Lara sat down on the bed, putting in the last book before sweeping my now-empty room with a glance.

"Any idea when you'll be back?"

"I really hope I'm back soon."

"Yeah I hope so too. I put an ad out in the newspaper yesterday for a new roommate, you know." She added the second part after a pause. And, to be honest, it did sting a little but I understood. We had already paid for rent this month so she was covered for the rest of the month. But god knows she would need someone after the month. I smiled sadly at her and nodded.

"I got offered a flat. Well a roommate position in an flat there. Saw an ad online."

"That's great! But I thought you'd stay with family."

"Are you kidding me? With my whole YouTube thing? They'd disapprove in a second. Even more than you do."

"Hey!"

"I'm just joking." I said with a grin. She rolled her eyes and said, "Your stuff should be shipped by day after. Got everything you need for the night?"

"Uh huh."

"Great. Let's go to the airport then. Next stop: London!"

 _Next stop London indeed._

I paid the cab that took me to my new apartment. It was definitely a nice place to live in. It looked sort of familiar but I brushed it off. I entered the building and went to the elevator, taking it up to the fourth floor. The doors opened to reveal a girl seemingly waiting. She looked at me and looked at the paper in her hand, "Corinne?"

"Hi. You must be-"

"Penny. Yeah. It's nice to meet you. Sorry but I was just heading out so here, take the key and make yourself at home. Well... not really. Don't move anything okay? Your room is the completely empty one. I'll be back in about an hour."

"Won't you give me a tour or something?"

"Hmm? Explore, hon. You'll figure it out. You seem like a bright kid. I'll see you soon, okay? Bye!" Before I could respond, she was in the elevator and the doors had closed, leaving me standing there with my luggage and my handbag. I must have looked odd because I heard a very _very_ familiar voice, behind me, say, "Are you alright? You seem a bit lost." I whipped around, hoping I wasn't dreaming, to see Dan Howell looking at me worriedly.

I think I died inside a little.


	3. Stop, Heart

I don't think I spoke for a few moments because the worry on his face deepened and he said, "Seriously, are you okay?" Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded. He nodded slowly, clearly unsure about my mental state (to be fair, I wasn't too sure either) before saying, "Okay then... I'm just going to go now."

 _Wait, what? No! Keep a conversation!_

"Actually!" I said, just as he was turning away. He turned around and gave me a quizzical look. I honestly didn't know what I was saying. I held up my piece of paper with the address on it and said, "Could you tell me where my flat is?" He nodded, coming up to me and taking the sheet of paper.

 _Oh my god. The proximity!_

"It's actually this one. Right here." He said, motioning towards the nearby flat. "Looks like we're neighbours."

 _I'm neighbours with the one and only Dan Howell. Wait... I'm neighbours with_ _ **Dan and Phil?!**_

"Oh. Yeah!"

 _Wow, Corinne. Look at you. Using your extensive vocabulary._

"I'm assuming you're new?"

"What was your first clue?" I said and he laughed, making my heart fangirl a little.

"In any case, I'm Dan."

"I...I'm Corinne." I said, saving myself from saying "I know".

"Well I'll leave you to unpack then. You are free to drop by for any other queries. We - my roommate, Phil, and I - live right down the hall."

"Great! Thanks!"

"No problem. I'll see you around." He smiled at me again ( _stop, heart_ ) and then left. I unlocked my door and went in before slumping against it, recovering from my internal fangirl session. After recovering, I realized that the house was actually pretty messy. There were canvases and easels and paintbrushes spread all over the place. There were paint covered aprons lying on the sofas too. Carefully picking my way through the mess, I found my way to my room. It was empty and drab and sad. I checked the time and realized I still had forty-five minutes left before my roommate came back. I had a quick internal debate and then decided to film a quick video but be careful _not_ to mention Dan in the off-chance that he ever saw my video. I finished filming and had just begun editing when I saw the time: it had been _at least_ two and a half hours. So I looked at the card Penny had given me with her number on it and called it. After the first two rings, she picked up and I heard _loud_ music on the other end, accompanied by a surprisingly sober Penny.

"Hello?"

"Penny?"

"Oh _hey_ Corinne!"

"Where... where are you?"

"At a club with some friends. I would have invited you but I didn't want you to feel awkward."

"Oh no, I completely understand. But how much longer will you be?"

"I honestly don't know, darling. Don't bother waiting up for me, though. Order dinner or something."

"Where do you keep the-"

"Sorry but I've got to go now, hon! You'll figure it out, won't you! Okay bye!" She basically screamed into the phone before the line went dead.

 _Well isn't this just great._ I thought before going back to finish editing the video.


	4. Pizza

_Oh my god, I'm_ _ **starving**_ _._ Was what I was thinking when I was going through the various kitchen drawers, looking for pamphlets, preferably for pizza. Apparently Penny had the bad habit of throwing away all the pamphlets. And I didn't even have an internet connection. So I called Penny... ten times (no exaggeration, mind you) and I didn't get a response even once. Her phone automatically went to voicemail. I wondered if I could ask my neighbours for a pizza pamphlet.

 _Are you **seriously**_ _considering asking Dan and Phil for a pizza pamphlet?!_ The voice in the back of my head asked which was when I realized that Dan Howell was the only neighbour I had actually _met._ So, after an extremely heated internal debate, I decided to ask them.

 _You need to form coherent sentences, alright?_

I obviously will.

 _We'll see about that._

Thanks. I said, rolling my eyes at the voice and then mentally and emotionally prepared myself for leaving and going next door. Finally I left the house and made my way to their house. Once outside, I raised my hand to ring the doorbell but, obviously, I was too scared. So, instead, I began creepily pacing outside their house. What I _didn't_ expect was for the door to open to reveal a slightly scared and very surprised Phil. He looked at me and said, "Hi...? Can I help you?"

 _Goddammit. Why do I have to be living next to **them**? Why not some **regular** cute guys?_

Phil was looking at me, now, with the same worried expression that Dan had when we met outside the lift. I realized that I had been quiet for a while and that I had quite possibly been staring at him too. So, partly pulling myself together, I said, "Hi. Sorry to disturb you. I'm your new neighbour, Corinne."

"Oh, hello. I'm Phil." He held out his hand. _Oh my god, he wanted to shake my hand. Okay, calm down Corinne._ I shook his hand and then said, "You're Dan's flatmate, aren't you?"

"You know Dan?"

"Met him very briefly outside the lift."

"Oh so you're _that_ Corinne! Would you like to come in? I was just heading out to get some stuff from the store but Dan's here and he can keep a conversation... sometimes."

"Uh-"

"Phil? Are you back already?" Dan said, appearing, rubbing his eye and being all cute. Then he noticed me and said, "Corinne! Hi! What brings you to our den of friendlessness?"

"Our den of friendlessness? Really, Dan?" Phil said with a laugh. Ugh, together their cuteness was multiplied tenfold.

"Well," I began, stopping the bant before it could begin, "I was just wondering if I could borrow the number for a pizzeria. I don't really have a fast internet connection and my flatmate isn't really all about keeping pamphlets... or her phone, really." I said, adding an afterthought. I don't even know _how_ I made it through two entire sentences without fumbling at least once. They each gave a laugh and then Dan said, "Sure, come in."

 _Wait, what? Come_ ** _in_** _? As in **into** Dan and Phil's house? **What?**_

"Um, Corinne?"

"What? Yeah, sorry. I just... thanks." I said and followed Dan after saying bye to Phil.

 _See, **this** is the fumbling you were waiting for. _

I walked into the living room and Dan disappeared into his room, leaving me to stand awkwardly and look around. It felt like an eternity before Dan returned and he stopped in his tracks when he saw how awkwardly I was standing in the middle of the sofa set. He smiled incredulously and said, "You can sit down, you know."

"I'm going to leave soon anyway so it's alright. I'm alright." _Aside from being super awkward._

"Okay. Um, here's the pamphlet with the number."

"Thank you!" I said, looking down at it and immediately seeing pepperoni. My eyes gleamed.

"You're- I have never seen _anyone_ this happy about pizza. And that includes myself." Dan said, laughing. I blushed with embarrassment.

"I just really like pizza, I guess."

"Any self-respecting human being would. Unless one of those human beings didn't. Or were lactose intolerant." He said, making me laugh with how adorable he sounded. Then he said, "Come on, I'll walk you back to your flat."

"You really don't-"

"I insist. Plus, you're the first neighbour I've actually talked to."

"Really? You're the first one I've talked to too." _Not to mention, the only one I **want** to talk to. _ Dan laughed and said, "That's quite flattering but I'm sure you'll find more interesting neighbours than me." _Wait, did I just say that out loud?_ Dan nodded, "Yeah, you did." _I need to stop._ I thought, making a conscious effort _not_ to say that out loud. We continued with small talk until we reached my flat (which, honestly, didn't take long at all and it would be an understatement if I said that I wanted the walk to be a longer one). Once we reached, I smiled at him and said, "Well, I'm going to go order pizza now."

"Oh right! This is your flat! Alright, then. I'll see you around, Corinne." _The way he says my name. Oh, lord._

"You've got your keys, haven't you?" Was what I said instead.

"Of course. They're right..." he trailed off, touching his side and realizing he didn't have his jacket on, which was where he usually put the keys.

"Dan?"

"No no no no _no!_ Phil is going to _kill_ me! I've locked us both out! _Fuck!_ "

"Does Phil have a copy of the key?" I asked and realization seemed to hit Dan again.

"Oh fucking hell. I should have _told_ him to take his copy! But I didn't know I was going to get locked out! Fucking hell." Then he glanced at me, looking like a helpless puppy. Honestly, I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him that it was going to be alright. Then I realized that he was actually saying something and I quickly tuned my brain in, "...you wouldn't mind, would you?"

"Of course not!" I said, not having the slightest clue what he had been talking about.

"Are you sure? I mean, Phil and I _will_ be spending the night because our landlady won't be able to get us the key until about 12 o'clock tomorrow."

"It's really no problem, Dan. Come in and make yourself comfortable. I'll order pizza." I smiled and opened the door, leading him inside. He smiled at me, thankfully and came in behind me.

 _Did I just invite Dan and Phil, two of YouTube's biggest stars to sleep over at my brand new house? **Is this actually happening?**_


	5. Obviously Not YouTubers

_Dan and Phil are actually staying at my flat. This is actually happening. How the_ _ **hell**_ _am I supposed to entertain two of the biggest entertainers?!_ Were the thoughts running through my head while I was on the phone in the kitchen, calling for pizza. I glanced over to the living room and saw Dan sitting on the sofa, furiously texting on his phone. I ordered two large pepperoni pizzas and then cut the call before walking out of the kitchen and into the living room to see Dan sitting there, staring at me, wide-eyed.

"What?" I asked, blushing ( _of_ _ **course**_ _you're blushing! Stop!)_.

"The pizzas are going to be _massive,_ you know."

"Can't handle a larger size, Daniel?" I said, awestruck at how sassy I sounded. But he didn't react and then I realized I had called him Daniel.

"How... did you know my name was Daniel?" _Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're one of the most famous YouTubers ever._ Was something I _didn't_ say. Instead, I said, "I just... guessed. I mean, I don't know what I would do if your name was just... Dan." It took all my willpower _not_ to make the hand gestures that he had made in his first video when saying Dan.

"Oh... well, yeah. My name is Daniel. But call me Dan. Daniel is a little too long."

"Sure." I sat down and we sat in silence for a while. After being initially comfortable, the silence became awkward.

"Someone told me that every time there's an awkward silence, a gay baby is born." I said, before I could stop myself. Dan looked at me weirdly for a second and then burst out laughing. _Oh my god he is so adorable. And even more so in real life. How can someone be so-_

"Jesus Christ. Phil just texted me: he's coming home a little later since he ran into our friend, Chris, on the way. So I guess the two huge pizzas are just for us."

"You're sure he can't make it in time for dinner?"

"He's having dinner with Chris. I think he wants to abandon me for not having the keys."

"Seems a bit harsh, don't you think? Does he know that if he comes here he'll get pizza?"

"Yeah. He'll probably come later, for the pizza." Just as Dan said that, the doorbell rang and I went to the speaker, "Who is it?"

"Corinne? Could you buzz me in?" The very obvious voice of Phil Lester said. Dan burst out laughing behind me and I tried really hard to hide a smile (I was completely unsuccessful) and I buzzed him in. About three minutes later (Dan was still laughing. He had this adorable thing where he'd laugh, stop, remember what happened and laugh again. It was like a never-ending cycle of adorable) there was a knock on the door and I opened the door to reveal a very dejected-looking Phil. The second Dan saw the expression on Phil's face, he sobered up and said, "Where's Chris?"

"He had to leave."

"Why do you look so disappointed?"

"I wanted to make you jealous with the Chinese food I was going to have with Chris. Oh, Corinne, you _may_ know Chris from You-"

"I'm sure she doesn't, Phil. He's just a friend." Dan said and mentally I finished what Phil was going to say. _Of course I know Crabstickz._ But I didn't say that. Instead I said, "Yeah well you get pepperoni pizza here so..." As if on cue, the doorbell rang again and I went to get the pizza, leaving Phil to get comfortable anywhere he wanted to. I returned with two enormous boxes of pizza (miraculously I didn't drop either boxes - I was a pretty small person with pretty small arms) to find Phil sitting right next to Dan, both of them on their phones. They looked up when I came in and Dan sprung to his feet before Phil had time to even _decide_ a reaction. He came to me ( _the proximity Jesus Christ)_ and took the top box of pizza. I smiled at him thankfully and then led the way to the kitchen. Phil followed and everyone took as many slices as they wanted to (that's code for I took loads). Then we sat in the living room and began eating. After we were all done with our first two slices, the pace of eating slowed down and conversation began. Phil looked at me and said, "So, Corinne, what do you do?"

"Well I'm on the editorial team. Like I have a say in what goes into the magazine, what should be tweaked etc."

"And you got sent to London because of it?"

"Well... the magazine is currently only in America and Canada and wants to extend its branches into the UK. Like it wants an audience in the UK. So I'm sort of here with a team and we rented an office space and everything so that we can send out some sample magazines."

"Do you like your job?" Dan asked, looking really serious.

"Um yeah, no, it's great. The pay's good and-"

"But do you _like_ it. Like do you see yourself doing something similar ten years from now?"

"Dan, we're not interviewing her for a job, you know." Phil said with a slightly nervous laugh.

"No, it's alright. I... don't mind my job but I hope it isn't what I'm doing ten years from now. What do you guys do?" I wanted to end the topic before they asked what I actually wanted to be. Somehow YouTuber seemed like a very odd option at the moment.

"We're actually You-" Phil started but Dan cut him off.

"We're actually on BBC Radio 1. Like we have a show with BBC so that's basically what we're doing right now." _Yes. I mean you **obviously**_ _aren't danisnotonfire AKA Dan Howell and AmazingPhil AKA Phil Lester._ I thought to myself but I decided to humour them.

"Oh that seems great! How is it?"

"Oh it's..." they went on to tell me everything that was so great about working with BBC and everything. And they shared jokes and stuff (not knowing, obviously, that I had heard _all_ of them) and so that's where all the time went: talking about and to Dan and Phil.

 _What an amazing use of time._


	6. Big Hero Dan?

***Chapter contains spoilers about Big Hero 6***

It was 2 am and I wasn't able to sleep. I was _way_ too excited to sleep, actually. I mean there were two YouTubers sleeping on makeshift beds in the living room (basically mattresses that I had found in Penny's cupboard). So I was sitting on my bed and watching Big Hero 6. It was right after the university blew up that I heard a knock on the door. Was Penny back? And did I really want her to see me with a puffy face and a red nose from crying. Honestly, it wasn't even hardcore crying. But my face just prepares itself for the worst. So I rubbed my face furiously, trying to make it red all over, and then, after glancing in the mirror (and not being satisfied at all with my efforts), I opened the door. But, instead of Penny standing there... it was Dan.

 _Why is Dan Howell standing outside my bedroom door?_

He was looking at the floor awkwardly when I opened the door. He glanced up and his eyes widened, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. What's up?"

"Have you been crying?"

"Some Disney movies such as Big Hero 6 can do that to you."

"Hey! I was... watching that movie the other day. I didn't cry though." _That may have been because you were in it._ I thought, rolling my eyes mentally.

"What were you looking for?" I changed the subject.

"Well I can't seem to find the bathroom so I was wondering if I could use yours."

"Oh, yeah, sure." I said, letting him in and showing him where the bathroom was. I realized, too late, that my clothes were hanging on the back of the door with my underwear probably on partial display. _Dan Howell is going to see my underwear... oh my **god!**_ I was blushing the whole time, taking deep breaths to calm myself down and everything. I sat back down on the bed and stared at the screen with Hiro on it, thinking about Baymax to calm myself down. Just as I was having this mental break down session, the door opened and Dan stepped out. He was slightly red so I assumed that he had seen my basic dignity. I said, "I'm sorry about the clothes."

"Oh no, it's no problem. Phil hangs his clothes like that too, sometimes."

"Oh well-" _wait, do Phil and him **share** a bathroom?! _"-wait, do you and Phil share a bathroom?"

"Jesus Christ, no! I mean when we're expecting guests, I'm usually on bathroom duty to make sure there's nothing weird in the bathrooms. So the lotions and everything are hidden and everything is just put away. Clothes are removed and... this isn't interesting at all, is it?"

 _Honestly, I would find your grocery shopping routine interesting. Even if you only had to buy milk and eggs._ But I didn't say that. Instead I said, "No, you can tell me if you want."

"Nevermind. It honestly isn't interesting. It bores me to tell it."

"Oh. Alright, goodnight then." I said, feeling disappointed. I needed to learn how to keep a conversation.

"Yeah. Goodnight. Although I probably won't be able to sleep. I've been up for too long."

"Haha okay. Well try to get some sleep anyway." I said, nervous laughing my way out of the situation. He grinned ( _why is he such a beautiful human being)_ and then left. The minute the door shut, I covered my face with both hands, breathing deeply and calming myself down. _Yes, Corinne. Dan Howell... **the** Dan Howell just used your bathroom and saw your underwear. But he's gone back to sleep now so it's _**_fine!_** _Calm down!_ I sighed and went back to my laptop. Hiro's face was still there and a thought struck me: Would it be completely inappropriate of me to ask Dan if he wanted to watch the movie? I mean, if he was awake, he would probably end up having an existential crisis, knowing Dan. _Knowing Dan, haha. You don't actually know him, though, do you?_

 _Shush. Okay, I'm going to ask him._

 _Are you sure?_

 _Shut up and don't make me second guess._ I said and I went to the door... five times. Finally, I came up with a convincing reason to be outside. So I went out and saw Dan sitting on the sofa he was supposed to be sleeping on (Phil was sleeping on the mattress on the floor), using his phone. He looked up when he saw me and said, "Hi again."

"Hi. Um I was just getting some water. Would you like some?"

"No, thanks. I'm alright."

"Alright." I poured myself a glass of water and then, turned around and glanced back at Dan. He was back to looking at his phone. But his thumbs were just hovering over the screen so I knew that nothing was happening. Or else he would have been typing or scrolling or something. So I said, "Um, do you want to watch Big Hero 6, by any chance?"

"You mean _now?"_

"Well... yeah. I have it on my laptop. I've already watched some, though."

"That's alright. I've seen the movie before." _You've also been in it._ I thought but didn't say it.

"Is that a no, then?"

"I guess so." I didn't say anything in response but I felt my heart drop (well that sounds really fatal. Figuratively I felt it drop) as I turned around to go back to my room. A second after I'd turned, Dan said, "Actually, if it's not too much trouble, can I watch it too? There really isn't much to do. And I prefer having existential crises in my own house. Oh god, did I just say that? I think I'm-"

"Of course you can watch the movie." I said, smiling. A genuine smile. Not the fangirl smile that had appeared every previous time. He gave me an awkward smile in return ( _he really needs to stop being so cute)_ and followed me into my room. Phil was still fast asleep. I sat down on my bed and Dan pulled up a chair. I gave him a look but didn't say anything.

 _He's just being non-creepy. The bed would be intimate._ My little voice told me.

 _You say it like it's a bad thing._ I responded and started the movie. We watched the movie, occasionally glancing at each other (not intimately - just to see reactions) and I caught his eye when his part came on. I immediately tried to put on a passive face and look back at the screen. But I could still feel the excitement radiating off of him. Even though this was the American version.

 _So... you just watched a movie with Dan Howell. Are you sure you're still sane, Corinne?_

 **-x-**

 **I felt like some of the conversations were so AWKWARD in this chapter. But it is the first encounter, right? I mean they've barely known each other for a day and they're already watching a movie together. Okay, I need to slow down. I hope you liked it! :D**


	7. The Sexy Bed Hair

"Corinne! There's a strange man in my living room!" I woke up with a start, hearing Penny shrieking. I felt the bed move beside me and I glanced over at the chair: empty.

 _Wait... what? Is that... in_ _ **my**_ _bed?!_

"Cor- well I see you've been busy." Penny was standing in the doorway, holding a very disheveled and barely-awake Phil by his t-shirt neckline. She smirked at my bed (I couldn't actually make out since I was squinting - there was _way_ too much light) and I looked at the bed. There was a vaguely humanoid bulge under the sheet, beside me. I pulled the sheet off to reveal a... shirtless Dan. _What._

"I'm too young to see the light!" Dan mumbled (really adorably) and, with his eyes still closed, felt around for the sheet, his hand ending up on my knee. He cupped it for a second and then opened one eye, cautiously. The minute he saw that _three_ people were in the bedroom, he shrieked (a shriek that could rival Penny's, mind you) and pulled the sheet up till his neck. Phil woke up properly at Dan's shriek and took in the scenario, looking really confused (he's so cute when he's confused). Then, slowly, he said, "Uh... did you guys... do something last night?"

"That's exactly what I want to know, Stranger-In-The-Living-Room." Penny said, smirking. I groaned and said, "Yes. We watched a movie. And then, apparently, fell asleep."

"I woke up in the middle of the night and I was feeling hot so I took off my shirt. I forgot I wasn't at home."

"How did you end up in my bed?!" I said, trying (and possibly failing) to sound violated and angry.

"I was... asleep on the chair and I woke up because I was ridiculously uncomfortable. But I was still half asleep and I felt around and I found a bed so I... crawled in and slept?"

 _Really?_

 _Well what were you hoping for? A sudden confession of undying love or something?_

 _Well maybe the "or something"._

"Corinne?" Penny's voice drew me out of my trance.

"Yeah?"

"Why are there two strange men in my house?"

"Oh. Oh! Penny, these are our neighbours: Dan and Phil. They got locked out last night and I sort of met them before they got locked out so I invited them to stay the night."

"Oh. I didn't realize the invitation extended till your bed." She said with a wink, making me go red. I mean they were still _in the damn room._

"I didn't either." I mumbled and then, shaking my head, said, "They were just leaving anyway. Right, guys?" I looked at them with a strained smile and a hopeful expression. It took them a good three seconds but they got it. Phil was the first to react, "Yeah! Yeah, we were. The landlady just texted me. She's coming up. Thanks again, Corinne. Come on, Dan." Dan was still sitting up with the sheet pulled up til his neck. He reached for his t-shirt and, doing some gymnastics under the sheet, put it on without anyone seeing his nipples (as if we haven't seen them before). I followed them to the door to say bye and Penny was right behind me. Once we reached the door, they turned around and said bye, grinning (ugh they were so adorable... and vaguely sexy with their bed hair... _damn_ ). Dan said, "Thanks for the movie. It was great."

"No problem. Just, next time, don't end up shirtless in my bed okay?" I said, with an awkward nervous laugh.

"So there's going to be a next time?" He asked with a slight smile... a borderline smirk. A borderline, ridiculously sexy smirk.

 _I'm probably going to go on a Phanathon after this._

"I don't know. I mean... it was fun right?"

 _Ohmygod Corinne. You are literally as smooth as mud right now._

"Uh... yeah." He said awkwardly before saying bye again and walking off with Phil. I shut the door and turned to face Penny, who looked on top of the world right now, may I add. I said, "What?"

"You like him, don't you?"

"Who? Dan? Yeah."

"Oh my god, seriously?!"

"What? Oh shit. You mean _like_ like? As in fancy? No. He's a nice guy."

 _And he's definitely **not** one of the most attractive and relatable you've met, right? _ My inner voice said, sarcastically.

"I'm just saying. He's _obviously_ gay with that other guy... Phil, was it?"

"Uh no. They're not gay. They have a platonic friendship." Yes, I was one of _those_ Phan shippers. Not the romantic one. But I still found their friendship _unbearably_ adorable. I think I say adorable too much.

"You wouldn't say that if you had been living next to them the way I have for all these years."

"Please. You didn't even know who they were." I said, ready to turn on my heel (hopefully not fall down) and walk off in style.

"You don't need to meet gay people to know they're gay. At least, I don't."

" _They're not gay, Penny!"_ I said with complete exasperation.

"Okay! Okay, I'm sorry! I'm just saying! Why are you so sure they aren't gay, anyway?"

"I just have a pretty good feeling that they're both straight." I said, not really wanting to tell her about how I watched them on YouTube extensively.

"...which is why you have a crush on Dan?"

"I do _not_ have a crush on Dan. I mean, he's definitely _not_ unattractive but just because I like how he looks doesn't necessarily mean I like _him!"_

"Whatever you say."

 _Great. My flatmate thinks that I have a crush on my neighbour. And not just any neighbour. Of course, it has to be Dan Howell. Okay... so having a crush on Dan probably wouldn't be the worst thing but... wait what. Corinne. Stop. Your inner fangirl is showing. Why do you still have an inner fangirl at 23. No wait, don't go down **that** road. _

**x**

 **Definitely not my best but I hope you like it :D Also omg it's Dan's birthday in 3 days :O**


	8. That One Percent Chance

I woke up to the incredibly loud sound of my doorbell ringing at eight in the morning. Seriously, it was _Sunday._ What could be so important that someone had to pull me out of bed on a Sunday? Sighing, I went to the door, hearing Penny's door shut when she realized that I was going to get the door, and pressed the button for the speaker. Immediately I heard my mother's voice:

"Corinne? It's me. Could you buzz me in?"

"I'll come down, give me a second." I said, brushing through my hair with my fingers and, after glancing down the corridor either way (to ensure that nobody would see me in my current state), I went downstairs and opened the door, revealing my perfectly dressed mother, wearing only the most modern fashion. Her smile turned more into a grimace when she saw the state I was in and said, "Dear, you look... fine."

"You woke me up. If you had told me you were coming, I would have actually gotten ready."

"I _did_ tell you! When you told me you were moving back, I told you that I was going to come and visit!"

"Yes, but you didn't tell me which day. Forget it. Come on, I'll take you upstairs." I said, leading her inside and took her upstairs. She said, "Are you the only people living here?"

"No we're not. The rest of the world just knows better than to wake up at eight in the morning on a Sunday."

"Really? Already the attitude, Corinne?"

"Sorry, mum." I said half-heartedly and, unlocking the door, led her into the house. I made a general motion towards the couch and said, "Make yourself comfortable, I'll just get ready."

"Alright." She said, glancing around, the distaste evident on her face. I quickly put on something presentable and brushed my hair properly before going outside. My mother was still looking around curiously, observing Penny's artwork that she refused to put away into her room. She insisted that if I could talk to myself as loudly as I did, she could leave her artwork in the living room. I decided not to argue. I went to the kitchen and asked my mother if she wanted some coffee - she said tea, which we didn't have. Well, we were out of tea. I told her that and, in typical fashion, she said, "Of course you don't. That's alright, dear. I'll just have some water." So I got myself a coffee, I got her a glass of water and we sat down in the living room. After roughly a minute of incredibly awkward (but preferred) silence, she said, "So... you've started painting."

"No. That's my roommate's. She's trying to be an artist. But until then she's bartending and doing other small jobs on the side."

"Trying to be an artist. So, like you then?"

"Are you really acknowledging what I want to be as an art form, mum?"

"What? Oh _that._ Oh, honestly Corinne, you're not still about that, are you? I mean it was fine five years ago when you were leaving for America. This YouTube thing needs to stop. I mean, it really is more of a hobby than a career."

"Mum, I _can_ make money from being a YouTuber."

"One, that's not a word, and two, what will people say if that's how you make money? The internet? Come on, dear, that's not a real job. You have a perfectly good job right now and I hope you realize that before you lose it because of some silly fantasies that we should never have encouraged. Honestly, this is all your father's doing. He's the one who-"

"I'm assuming you had news and that's why you came." I said through gritted teeth. If I didn't change the topic now, I knew I was going to blow.

"What? Can't a mother come to see her daughter just for fun, anymore?" _Most mothers maybe, but not you._ I thought but opted not to say. I was glad when she began speaking again, "Well, now that you mention it, I _do_ have news. I know she wanted to tell you herself but I simply can't wait any longer! Marissa's getting married!" Just like that I heard a glass shatter somewhere in my mind and I felt the mug slip from my grip and onto the floor, coffee spilling everywhere. The breaking of the mug brought me back to my senses and my mother looked astonished at what I had done. She said, "Really, Corinne! You were less clumsy when you left!"

"I'm... sorry." I muttered, leaving and returning with tissues and a dustpan. I put the wet, broken mug pieces into the dustpan. Just as I was putting the tissue down on the coffee, my mother said, "Well? What do you think?"

"What do I... uh... Marissa's getting married? Wow, how did that happen?" I said, smiling and nodding. In all honesty, I wasn't as happy as I probably should have been. I just thought my sister was, well, too young to get married. Especially considering that the man who had proposed to her was her high school boyfriend. I mean, she had never even tried dating after that.

"Well, we were all eating in the living room and Sean was there and Marissa wanted some more stew so he offered to get some for her. And then, he came back with a little box instead of the plate and proposed!"

"Great... I'm really happy for her." I said, giving my mother a larger smile than I had previously. She seemed satisfied with this smile and said, "Alright then, thank you for the hospitality, dear. It was really good to see you. But I must leave now. It'll take me a few hours to get back. Come home some time, your father really wants to see you." She smiled one of her rare maternal smiles and I took her downstairs.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned around and said, "Oh, yes, Marissa wanted you to be her bridesmaid! Well one of them, anyway."

"Oh... that's cool. Uh, I'll come home sometime this week and see her, okay?"

"Oh she'd love that! Just... wear something else, okay, dear?" I glanced down at my t-shirt and, although I saw nothing wrong with it, agreed to do so. Then I said goodbye again and went back upstairs. Penny was pouring herself a mug of coffee and glanced up when I went into the kitchen, needing another coffee. She glanced at my t-shirt and said, "Nice." But I could hear the sarcasm. Nonetheless I said thanks and then grabbed a mug. She said, "So, who was that?"

"My mum."

"Ah. What did she want?"

"Nothing of importance."

"Really? Because whatever she wanted made you spill coffee all over the carpet. That's going to stain, by the way. And I expect _you_ to clean it up."

"Oh _come on!_ You really want me to go outside?"

"Yes I do. You're going to get it dry cleaned today."

"Today?! It's _Sunday."_

"So? They're open on Sunday. And who knows, maybe you'll run into a special someone there." I knew she was hinting at Dan and rolled my eyes knowing that the chance of that happening was incredibly low. But still the slight chance of it happening made me want to go... sort of.

This 1% chance was why I did end up going, carrying the huge, bulky carpet. There was a huge queue at the dry cleaners (I assumed since it was Sunday and no other place was open) and so I stood at the back, really wanting to just go back home. That was until I actually saw a wild Dan Howell running (yes, _running)_ towards the queue. Then I noticed that another person was leisurely walking towards the queue too and, no matter how fast Dan ran (haha, Dan ran. Also it was surprisingly fast), he would never actually make it. So, being the kind person I was, when the person approached, I said, "I'm saving this place for a friend." I motioned towards Dan and the guy nodded, leaving space between me and him. Dan reached the queue and was clearly somewhat out of breath and that's when he noticed me, "Oh," _wheeze,_ "hi," _wheeze,_ "Corinne."

"Hi. I saw you running so I saved you a space." I said and a look of complete dismay appeared on his face. He motioned towards the entire stretch he had run across (albeit it wasn't all that much) and said, "All that... for nothing?"

"Sorry."

"No... thanks. I would rather you save a space for me. Even if I did essentially train for the marathon." He said and stood behind me. Just then the person at the counter switched shifts with someone else and a man much slower than the previous person was at the counter. I swallowed hard: this was going to be a _long_ wait with Dan Howell standing very close behind me.

 _You can handle yourself, Corinne. I believe in you._

 **x**

 **This was kinda long I think. I don't know. Anyway, I'm happy to announce that I'm bringing this back (now that my finals are over and I'm free af)!**


	9. A Best Case Scenario

Thirty seconds later (although, to be fair, it did feel like thirty years), Dan groaned behind me. I looked at him and he muttered "sorry" (even though he was clearly anything but) as we continued down the snail-pace queue. Honestly, I didn't trust myself to speak right now. All the previous times there had been distance between us which allowed space for conversation. But right now... well let's say I could tell what cologne he was wearing. I mean, in terms of worst-case scenarios, this didn't even figure in the top 15 - mainly because I got to spend this time with _the_ danisnotonfire standing _right behind me_ (in spite of my inability to converse). After a minute or so, Dan said, "How many more people _are_ there?"

"Seven." I squeaked, immediately going red at the high-pitched voice I had emitted. I took a quick glance behind me and saw Dan looking mildly amused before saying, "Are you alright?"

"What?" I said, making a show of clearing my throat before speaking again in the most normal voice I could muster in this situation, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. You alright?"

 _Corinne... what even... why would you... nevermind._

"Uh yeah. I'm fine. Apart from the fact that I hate waiting so long! Ugh, Phil should have just let me take these on a weekday. But _no,_ I have to take them on _Sunday_ to the closest dry cleaners because we need it back quickly. I _told_ him there would be a queue, y'know? And what did he say? Nothing. He went back to sleep. That's what. That's why _I'm_ here with the dry cleaning. It was his turn, too." Oh god, they take _turns_ dry cleaning? I just assumed they did it separately. They're so cute!

"Why didn't you just force him?"

"Not worth it. He's always in a crappy mood before coffee and springing chores on him the minute he gets up is _not_ how you get into his good books." Really? Phil of all people is in a crappy mood? But he's such a-

 _Stop, Corinne. You've seen them on a screen, not in real life. I mean except_ now.

"Well, in any case, I'm grateful for the company." I said, really meaning it and unable to wipe the fangirl smile off my face.

"Yeah I am, too." _You are?_

"Yeah, of course I am. I mean," _shit I said that out loud too,_ "I would much rather have to go through seven people with someone to talk to than have to wait this whole time alone."

"Well, that makes two of us then. Oh, was Phil alright? I mean, after getting his entire t-shirt pulled by Penny."

"Oh yeah, he was perfectly fine. I mean he wasn't too happy about being woken up but he didn't mind too much. Plus, he wasn't really in a position to complain - neither of us were. Oh, I completely forgot to thank you for the movie. I mean, it was a better alternative to what might've happened if you hadn't offered."

"What's that?" I asked, being a little shit - I remembered him saying something about existential crises instead of a movie but I was doing anything to keep the conversation going. I mean, how often was an opportunity like this going to present itself?

"...okay since we're going to be here for a while, I would have probably ended up having an existential crisis."

"Do you have those a lot?" _Really, Corinne? You're such a little shit._

"Um... kind of? I don't know, actually. I just have them from time to time and end up lying on the floor or something, just contemplating everything. Have you had one?"

"I'm pretty sure I had a couple in university. But my friend, Lara, forced me to get it together."

"Oh yeah, I had one of those in university."

"Yeah? What did you do?"

"Law. For some weird reason. It makes no sense in hindsight. Especially considering what I do now."

"Right. The BBC show." _Definitely not YouTube._

"Oh yeah. That. Yeah, I definitely didn't enjoy law. Plus, I'm a chronic procrastinator, so that didn't help." He said and I could tell from his expression that he thought he had revealed too much. I laughed anyway and said, "Well, to be fair, I _did_ do Language and Media in university so... I did something in relation to my job, now."

"Oh yeah, you're an editor. You couldn't have finished university all that long ago, though. How did you get such a good job? I mean being part of the editing team must be well-paying."

"It's pretty good for a first job, yes. But I'm not the _official_ editor. I'm just the first level. After my level there's a second level which reviews the tweaks my team's put in and everything and then it goes to the official editor. Of course, there are certain parts of the magazine that do not need such a high level of editing so those don't go to the higher levels - my team can be trusted with those. But yeah, I guess I lucked out applying for a job for an up-and-coming magazine - as they put it in the advertisement. What about you? How were you found by BBC?"

"Well Phil and I used to do these little things on the internet. Like little skits. I guess BBC saw some of those, liked them and contacted us. We don't do the skits anymore, though. They were more for our entertainment than anything else." _Sure you don't do them anymore._

"Oh are they still up? I'd love to check them out." But I never got the answer because by then we had reached the counter and I had to give the carpet for dry cleaning. The man looked at it and gave me a mildly disgusted look as if he couldn't believe I was making him dry clean an entire carpet. I just smiled apologetically and told him I'd be back to pick it up on Tuesday. Then I moved out of the way and Dan gave his stuff. He glanced at me and saw me waiting for him and said, "You don't have to wait, it's alright."

"Well since I'm already here, I might as well not walk back alone."

"Alright then." He said and finished up before joining me. Somehow talking about us while waiting in the queue had helped ease my initial fangirl instincts. Not to say they were completely gone ( _like that would ever happen)_ but they were dormant - at least for right now.

We walked back to the apartment together and he told me about his and Phil's team at BBC and about his different favourites - from ice cream to colour. I talked about my team and told him my favourites. I felt like we were walking much slower because the number of topics we had managed to cover by the time we reached the apartment. We went upstairs and he said, "Well I guess I leave you here. Thanks for the company, Corinne."

 _Did he have to say my name_ ** _now?_** _I was_ _ **just**_ _getting used to talking to him without necessarily fangirling._ But apparently that was the effect Dan Howell had: he could just say my name and my 'dormant' fangirl would awaken, completely energized and ready to slay my soul.

"You too. Thanks for the company, I mean." I said, forcing my voice to remain steady. Of course, the state of not fangirling had been way too good to last.

Just as we were turning to go in opposite directions, Dan said, "You know, you should come over sometime. I mean for dinner, or something. I'm just making a... neighbourly gesture, I guess. I mean, it's up to you. I've already talked to you and stayed at your place, dinner feels slightly far-fetched. But it's just a thought."

"Dan, it's fine. Sure, I could come over. And dinner would be great. I'll let you know when?"

"Yeah, sure. Bye, then."

"Bye." I said, turning away as fast as possible to allow the growth of an enormous smile on my face. This was _so_ much more than my fangirl could handle. I unlocked my door and walked in, registering something Penny said but not really hearing her.

 _Dan Howell..._ _ **the**_ _Dan Howell just asked me to go to his place for dinner. What if he sends Phil away and it's just the two of us. Okay, Corinne, don't get ahead of yourself. The likelihood of that happening is one in 100. But... the one percent chance worked last time, didn't it? Okay calm down, your cheeks are starting to go numb._


End file.
